The much feared and respected law enforcement agency that is the FBI are on to Voip and they are not willing to take no for an answer. They see the new world of online communication as a melting pot for criminals and extremists alike and they want to control what happens.
Previous attempts by the FBI to monitor online conversations have all proved unsuccessful due to a number of factors, but mainly due to the encryption used in Voice Over IP technology. The proposed new legislation would, however, enable the FBI to easily gain access to any online conversations at anytime.
The new proposal would mean a costly period of implementation for all Voice Over IP service providers, as they would need to alter their coding in order to accommodate the FBI and enable them to easily access their servers and listen in to online conversations at anytime.
But regardless of any potential headaches, any changes would have to be accommodated without question and all companies would want to be seen to be in favour of helping to negate any potential criminal activity. Because of this it seems likely that the law - or some variation of it - will be passed in the near future.
The use of data packets in online communications are the reason that it has proven so difficult thus far for government agencies to effectively monitor onlne communications. The decoding of these packets is near impossible with the current coding system, hence the need for the underlying technology to be changed.
But now Voip-PAL president Dennis Chang has been granted a patent which would, in effect, enable all Voip communications to be recorded with ease, by using underlying technology to enable authorities to monitor suspected criminals via their subscriber information and username.
But the new law will, without doubt, meet stiff opposition in the form of protests against online privacy and the right to have private conversations online without the worry of being overheard at anytime. Because of this it is likely that the new legislation will take some time to come into effect.
But that will have to be seen. As of now, the when, what, why and hows are all still to be worked out and there will be much deliberation as to the extent of what is and is not an acceptable level of control to be exerted on our online communications. But one thing is without doubt; Voip is here to stay, and the FBI arent going to give up on the idea. Somewhere there will have to be a compromise, but as history has showed, compromise often favours those in power.
Previous attempts by the FBI to monitor online conversations have all proved unsuccessful due to a number of factors, but mainly due to the encryption used in Voice Over IP technology. The proposed new legislation would, however, enable the FBI to easily gain access to any online conversations at anytime.
The new proposal would mean a costly period of implementation for all Voice Over IP service providers, as they would need to alter their coding in order to accommodate the FBI and enable them to easily access their servers and listen in to online conversations at anytime.
But regardless of any potential headaches, any changes would have to be accommodated without question and all companies would want to be seen to be in favour of helping to negate any potential criminal activity. Because of this it seems likely that the law - or some variation of it - will be passed in the near future.
The use of data packets in online communications are the reason that it has proven so difficult thus far for government agencies to effectively monitor onlne communications. The decoding of these packets is near impossible with the current coding system, hence the need for the underlying technology to be changed.
But now Voip-PAL president Dennis Chang has been granted a patent which would, in effect, enable all Voip communications to be recorded with ease, by using underlying technology to enable authorities to monitor suspected criminals via their subscriber information and username.
But the new law will, without doubt, meet stiff opposition in the form of protests against online privacy and the right to have private conversations online without the worry of being overheard at anytime. Because of this it is likely that the new legislation will take some time to come into effect.
But that will have to be seen. As of now, the when, what, why and hows are all still to be worked out and there will be much deliberation as to the extent of what is and is not an acceptable level of control to be exerted on our online communications. But one thing is without doubt; Voip is here to stay, and the FBI arent going to give up on the idea. Somewhere there will have to be a compromise, but as history has showed, compromise often favours those in power.
About the Author:
Saul Saresi writes regularly about Voip systems and technology for his website which can be found here business phone previous examples of his research and writing can be found here voip system
The Communication Blog
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